University of Northern Iowa
Green Bay
UNI Rallies Come up Short at No. 17 Green Bay, 75-67
12/4/2011 1:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team cut a 16-point deficit down to five points late in the second half but was unable to knock off No. 17 Green Bay on Sunday afternoon at the Kress Events Center, falling 75-67. Senior guard Katelin Oney scored a career-high 25 points for the Panthers.
UNI threatened to snap Green Bay's 26-game regular season winning streak from the opening tip and rallied several times throughout the second half, but 27 turnovers by the Panthers proved to be too much to overcome.
The Panthers rattled off a 13-0 start in the game's first five minutes, and Oney went 4-of-4 from three-point range in the first seven minutes to put the Panthers up 16-5. Green Bay responded with a 13-0 run of its own, taking the lead back at 18-16 with just under eight minutes left in the opening half.
With the game tied at 18-18, the Phoenix closed the first half on a 24-10 run to hold a 42-28 lead at the break.
UNI (5-2) was hurt by 16 first-half turnovers that Green Bay converted into 23 points.
Down 46-30 early in the second half, UNI rallied to cut the margin to seven points at 54-47 on a basket by Rachel Madrigal with 8:22 left in the game. Green Bay stretched the lead back to 10 at 64-54, but a three-pointer by Madrigal and a layup by Oney had the Panthers within five with 3:56 left.
Green Bay scored eight consecutive points over the next 2:23 to build a 72-59 lead that the Panthers could not surmount. UNI was able to once again trim the deficit to six points on back-to-back three-pointers by Sharnae Lamar and Oney, but the Phoenix held on for a 75-67 victory.
UNI shot 21-of-46 (45.7 percent) from the field for the game, while Green Bay shot 29-of-59 (39.2 percent). The Panthers were 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range and 15-of-16 from the free throw line on the day.
Green Bay (7-0) totaled 36 points off turnovers in the contest.
Oney's career-high 25 points were the most scored by a Panther this season and the highest total since K.K. Armstrong scored 26 against Bradley in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Mar. 11, 2011. Armstrong added 14 points on Sunday and Madrigal has 11 to post double-digit scoring for the sixth time this season.
Junior Amber Kirschbaum grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Panthers, and Mercedees Morgan added seven boards.
UNI will return home to face South Dakota on Wed., Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center.
